Border with Iraqi Kurdistan Still Shut: Iranian Consulate
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s consulate in Erbil dismissed speculation about reopening of the border crossings with the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, saying two of the three border crossings are still closed at the request of the Baghdad central government.
In a statement on Saturday, Iran’s consulate in Erbil said the Haj Omran (Tamarchin) and Parviz Khan border crossings in western Iran are still shut and the officials have not made any new decision about those two places.
The Iranian and Iraqi merchants and passengers can cross the border via Bashmakh (Bashmaq) border crossing as a replacement, it added.
Iran shut its common frontier with the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan Region at the request of Baghdad after the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) held a referendum to secede from the Arab country in September.
Iraq is planning to take control of the borders of its autonomous Kurdistan region in coordination with Iran and Turkey.
People in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq voted for independence on September 25 in a controversial referendum, amid rising tensions and international opposition.
The referendum set off a chain of events, culminating in a military confrontation between Erbil and Baghdad.
Iraqi government forces launched a major operation in Kirkuk on October 16 and took control of its oil fields and a strategic military base without any armed clashes.
KRG announced last week it is prepared to freeze the results of the referendum.
